1. Field of the Invention
An improved electrical connector is formed by stamping and bending a sheet of conductive metal, wherein as a preliminary step, a series of longitudinally-spaced openings are formed in the sheet to define a plurality of transversely extending strips from the side edges of which a pair of parallel spaced integral side walls extend, which sheet is coiled on a storage spool, and is subsequently unwound and fed toward a stamping station at which the transverse strips are severed at spaced separation points, thereby to define a connector body wall integral with the side walls. The side walls have portions that are simultaneously bent to form top, bottom and/or end walls which cooperate to define a chamber in which a spring contact is mounted.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known in the electrical connector art to provide a connection device made as a spring terminal for the connection of conductors, as well as a method for the assembly of connection devices that can be made as a spring terminal or also in some other way for connection to electrical conductors, such as an IDC connection or as a screw connection.
Spring terminals for connection of a conductor that have a terminal body with an open front for the introduction of the conductor and a spring contact arranged in the terminal body for contacting the conductor and for firmly clamping the conductor in the terminal body are known, for example, from the European patent No. EP 1 253 670 A2.
Another spring terminal is known from the German patent No. DE 196 14 977. An attachment leg—a kind of bracket—is used as overextension protection of the spring and simultaneously as actuation lever and is made integrally with the spring. The spring terminal is actuated, for example, with a screwdriver, with which the spring, for example, is opened out of the introduction direction of the conductor.
It is, moreover, known that spring terminals can be so designed that a conductor can be inserted into the terminal body into the contact point between the spring and a bus bar directly against the spring force without any need for separately opening the spring. This technique, also referred to as a “push-in connector” is described, for example, in the U.S. patent to Fricke et al U.S. Pat. No. 6,797,855 B2. The conductor can be separated out of the contact point with the aid of a screwdriver.
Against this background, it is the object of the invention, on the one hand, to create a spring terminal that is made as a spring terminal by way of the direct plug-in technique, which has a particularly compact structure. Moreover, there is to be created a particularly simple, automatable process for the assembly of such connection devices, preferably also those with other structures.
According to the present invention, the connector body has at least one lateral opening through which an insulated conductor can be separated laterally or essentially laterally (out of an angle between approximately 60 and 90°) with respect to the conductor insertion direction out of the contact point between the spring contact and the terminal body. According to another invention, the terminal body furthermore has surfaces that are suitable for a surface mounted device (SMD) assembly on a structural part, in particular, a printed circuit board.
Because of the use of only a few parts, the spring terminal has a relatively simple and inexpensive design. It is furthermore easily assembled and can be made relatively small.
The invention also creates a method for assembly of connection devices, whereby the assembly of an arrangement takes place by unrolling the assembly line from a spool, and separating a wall from the metal material between a pair of separation points on the material.